By: Ireland (boh.delete@this.outlook.ie), January 31, 2017 1:27 pm
Room: Moderated Discussions
Jouni Osmala (a.delete@this.b.c) on January 31, 2017 1:10 pm wrote:
> People use 20 years in the future todays common hardware and software as a mission critical
> platform because they have software system build on top of it. And when they finally have
> to upgrade there is going to be compatibility problems, that where not expected.
>
Yeah, that's sort of the idea that I was hoping to add into this. We're building systems right now, today, that are going to be the NT4 embedded software controls, of twenty years from now. It's that idea of a 'forward' compatibility idea that you mentioned. I don't know, is that stuff even taught in the school, to software engineers at the moment? Maybe not. But anyhow, by the time one gets to a '2010', then there's no luck at all of finding anyone around, who even remembers NT4, much less what to do with it. And even if they did, they still wouldn't touch the problem with a 'barge' pole.
One last observation.
I think that the real hint is in the original subject line at the top - the Isambard supercomputer, for the 'UK Met Office'. Now assume for just one moment, that it's isn't a supercomputer that is going to get installed into some nice commercial real estate address, in central London or Manchester. Let's just pretend for a minute, that this thing will end up installed in the bottom of a boat, somewhere between Iceland and the north Pole? Like, is there something about the technology of phones, and chips in phones, that means that in order to pass muster - it must travel through more stringent testing, in terms of being able to work outdoors in a broader range of temperatures and conditions - than say, a Xeon would?
Like, Pixar as someone mentioned below, might have the advantage of doing business out of a very nice office building somewhere in sunny California. However, the UK Met Office, might not have that environment in mind, when they imagined what they wanted their super-machine to become. Over and out.
> People use 20 years in the future todays common hardware and software as a mission critical
> platform because they have software system build on top of it. And when they finally have
> to upgrade there is going to be compatibility problems, that where not expected.
>
Yeah, that's sort of the idea that I was hoping to add into this. We're building systems right now, today, that are going to be the NT4 embedded software controls, of twenty years from now. It's that idea of a 'forward' compatibility idea that you mentioned. I don't know, is that stuff even taught in the school, to software engineers at the moment? Maybe not. But anyhow, by the time one gets to a '2010', then there's no luck at all of finding anyone around, who even remembers NT4, much less what to do with it. And even if they did, they still wouldn't touch the problem with a 'barge' pole.
One last observation.
I think that the real hint is in the original subject line at the top - the Isambard supercomputer, for the 'UK Met Office'. Now assume for just one moment, that it's isn't a supercomputer that is going to get installed into some nice commercial real estate address, in central London or Manchester. Let's just pretend for a minute, that this thing will end up installed in the bottom of a boat, somewhere between Iceland and the north Pole? Like, is there something about the technology of phones, and chips in phones, that means that in order to pass muster - it must travel through more stringent testing, in terms of being able to work outdoors in a broader range of temperatures and conditions - than say, a Xeon would?
Like, Pixar as someone mentioned below, might have the advantage of doing business out of a very nice office building somewhere in sunny California. However, the UK Met Office, might not have that environment in mind, when they imagined what they wanted their super-machine to become. Over and out.